Cook County voted to retain all of nearly 60 judges up for retention yesterday. However, the four judges found Not Qualified by a majority of bar associations received around a 63% “yes” vote while most other judges received well over 70%. To be retained, a judge must receive at least a 60% “yes” from voters.

Public education efforts like www.voteforjudges.org seem to have taken stronger hold in suburban Cook County than in Chicago.

I want to thank the more than 50,000 persons who used www.VoteforJudges.orgfor the November 2012 election. The voters retained all judges, but they barely retained those judges found not recommended by a majority of the groups evaluating judges. The voters are telling these judges that while they get another term, they need to focus on improving their judicial performance. They are sending a message that these judges should pay attention to the constructive criticisms offered by those groups which offer written explanations with their evaluation results. Tens of thousands of people will appear before these judges over the next six years. They deserve the highest quality judiciary possible.